Greetings and welcome to a new Flute Friday. I recently purchased a brand spanking new alto flute and was inspired today to look into pieces written specifically for the instrument as stand alone recital works. I am planning an upcoming recital and wish to showcase my new purchase as well as program something a bit unexpected amidst some crowd-pleaser standards. This brought me down the rabbit hole of alto flute solo recordings on YouTube! There are a number of very interesting works for solo alto flute out there that just do not get the play time they deserve. Some of the pieces are so hauntingly beautiful, I could hear fragments of them still ringing in my ears (and, frankly, in my soul) long after I turned off the video. In today’s blog, I will be sharing some of my favorite videos from my alto flute solo watching binge, with a few of my own observations. At least one or two of these will definitely be programmed on my next performance (and possibly recorded on my YouTube channel as well). Hoping to inspire others to check out these works and program an alto flute solo on an upcoming recital in your neck of the woods.
ALTO FLUTE SOLOS
Steeples in my Soul by David Bennett Thomas. This is probably my favorite piece of the works listed below! There is a good use of the range of the instrument and a wide range of dynamics required over short durations of beat. This work has a haunting, ethereal vibe through the use of echo effects and melodic fragments. There are moments of catchy motives in the Allegro section, highlighted by wide jumps (make sure to maintain a flexible embouchure here). The ending introduces spiraling 32nd notes and ends sort of abruptly, like a cliff-hanger on your favorite Netflix series. Beautiful performance by Carla Rees in this video!
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The Whispering Voice of Water for Alto Flute by Pranav Sivakumar. This piece requires creativity, patience, and flexibility as it literally whispers at the beginning of the piece. The work is intended to represent water. Patience and open-mindedness are needed to fully appreciate the multifaceted approach to painting a picture with music. I wonder if this piece would be best performed either in the dark or accompanied by a video depicting different types of water. This will help your audience visualize water with the musical soundtrack in tow.
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Elegy for Solo Alto Flute by Kristen Stoner. The one literally stuck to my soul as I was hearing the melody echoing in my head long after I switched off the video. This piece is accessible with clear extended techniques that serve a simple, interpretive purpose. The melody is very haunting, like entering a deserted cave at the edge of a body of water (I was immediately picturing Voldemort’s cave in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and was ready to go hunting for horcruxes with Professor Dumbledore). This is a great first alto solo piece for someone just starting out on the instrument. Kristen’s description of the work holds significance for all of us who experienced the events of 2020, “Elegy is a short unaccompanied work (my first for alto flute) meant to express the many tragedies of 2020. The haunting color of this solo instrument is representative of the globally shared trauma and devastation of the past year. COVID. Social injustice. Loss of loved ones. Depression. Political division. Hopelessness. Here’s to better days ahead. “Elegy” composed and performed by Kristen Stoner, Professor of Flute at the University of Florida. Copyright 2020.” Beautiful performance by Kristen Stoner.
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Carla by David Bennett Thomas. This piece features wandering, sweeping lines, flutter tonguing effects, and cascades of grace notes. If you love grace notes, this is the piece for you! These grace notes give the work a woodsy vibe, reminescent of the windchimes the woodsman in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves use to emulate “sprits” to keep the soliders out of Sherwood Forrest. The descending tremolos keep the piece interesting by creating a melting effect in the music. The sixtuplets towards the end of the work erupt like a volcano! This piece has a lot of variety and would appeal to performers who are not tied to having a melody as a focal point of the music. Beautiful performance by Carla Rees.
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Nocturne for Alto Flute by Kevin Lemon. This piece is even more haunting than Elegy and is meant to depict the experience of walking alone at night. As the composer explains, “When you’re walking alone at night, you hear the sounds of nature around you; the only illumination coming from the moon and stars, and distant street lights. You feel the peace of nature around you, enveloped by darkness. There is a quiet intensity in which your senses are heightened, especially your hearing. However, it can at times be unnerving when the sources of sounds are hard to identify. Walking alone at night is a highly personal experience whereby you open yourself fully to your your surroundings. The piece reflects these ideas by exploring a wide array of sounds and timbres afforded by the alto flute. The subtlety of natural sounds at night is reflected by the flute’s slight changes to timbre: inflections, surprises, pauses, extreme quiet and distant sounds. Aspects central to the work are the notions of silence and space, which are abundant in a nocturnal setting. Additionally, various states are represented, from calm and serene to more agitated and hurried movement.” The air effects in this piece seem to emulate the sound of a ghost and the accompanying pitch bends are quite jarring in comparison. You can almost hear anxiety build out of nothingness, supported by harmonics that give the music an otherworldly sound against spinning notes acting like the very voice of anxiety. I really enjoyed the pyschological properties of this piece – I actually felt anxious while I was listening! Beautiful performance by Conrad Marshall.
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Hara for Solo Alto Flute by Harvey Sollberger. This piece sounds a bit more complicated than the other pieces on this list, so if you are looking for a challenge, this definitely fits the bill. There is a smorgusboard of techniques in the work, ranging from pitch bends and tremolo (similar to other pieces on this list), multiphonics (which refers to playing two notes at the same time), and key slaps. Variety is the name of the game as the focus does not remain on one melody or fragment. Aggressive attacks out of near silence keep the audience guessing what the heck is going to happen next. You can also hear a slight jazz influence at the beginning of the work (if you listen closely). Beautiful performance by Leonard Garrison.
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Absolute Zero for Solo Alto Flute by Tyson Davis. This piece is the most melodic piece on the list but also features pointillistic phrases for a change of pace. This could be a very good Halloween performance piece as the melody possess a creepy, vocal quality. Wild crescendoing fluttered phrases evoke screams from nowhere while the fluttered phrases at the end of the piece in the low register still retain a creepy, lingering melody. Beautiful performance by Savannah Ridley.
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And, of course this one, which is self-explanatory and just for fun! Encore piece, anyone?:
Do you have a favorite alto solo piece that didn’t make this list?? What is your favorite thing about performing alto solo pieces? Do you have a video of an alto solo performance you would like to share? Please comment below!!!
Happy fluting!
Rachel Taylor Geier 
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